Foundation board looks to build on successes, lead in economic recovery

Chamber foundation looks to aid economic recovery through research, leadership

As 2020 comes to a close, looking ahead to 2021 provides hope for Minnesota businesses on the road to recovery. The New Year and the advent of a COVID-19 vaccine creates hope for new opportunities and a hastened road to economic recovery.  And the Minnesota Chamber Foundation – led by a dynamic board of directors – is positioned to emerge as a key resource and change agent on behalf of Minnesota businesses and our state’s economy.

At the Minnesota Chamber’s Annual Meeting, Jon Campbell, retired president, Wells Fargo Foundation, took over as chair of the Foundation board. As the state economy looks to recovery, Campbell will lead the Foundation’s effort to complete Minnesota: 2030. This 10-year outlook and roadmap for Minnesota’s long-term economic success will be released in March, and will help guide the state’s future economic growth in a new, post-Covid economy. 

Three new board members were added as well:

• Karen Himle, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Government Affairs, Thrivent
• Joe Nayquonabe, CEO, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures
• Traci Tapani, Co-President, Wyoming Machine
   

 
“The Minnesota Chamber Foundation’s economic research, leadership and practical workforce solutions position the Foundation to be a key leader in helping Minnesota’s economy develop to its full potential,” said Campbell. Campbell takes over the role of chair from Susan Marvin of Marvin. The Chamber Foundation relaunched in late 2018 and under Marvin’s leadership quickly worked to tackle the state’s top business issue: workforce. The Center for Workforce Solutions and the Chamber’s Business Education Network expanded with new partners to train the next generation of skilled workers and fill jobs around the state. When COVID-19 hit, the Foundation had to quickly pivot, focusing efforts on Minnesota’s economic recovery and ensuring our workforce partners could sustain their programs through the economic downturn.

The Chamber Foundation established the Center for Economic Research to serve as a vehicle for analyzing the state economy, the potential for key sectors and the impact of future trends. The Foundation created a real-time dashboard of Minnesota’s economic indicators to better understand the changes to the economy and measure Minnesota’s emergence from the downturn.
 

“Prior to 2020, our economy was thriving as the Foundation was designing a roadmap for our state’s economy over the next decade. At the same time, we were helping to build local pipelines to address persistent workforce issues,” said Susan Marvin, Chair of the Minnesota Chamber Foundation board of directors for 2019-2020. “COVID put a hold on these plans, and in partnership with the Chamber, we focused on the immediate needs of the statewide business community with an eye on economic recovery.”